Melbourne, February 12
The current situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has arisen due to the disregard of written agreements by China not to mass soldiers at the border, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday.
Speaking at a joint press conference along with his Australian counterpart Marise Payne, Jaishankar said when a large country disregards written commitments, it’s an issue of legitimate concern for the entire international community.
The minister made the comments in response to a question on the eastern Ladakh border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries.
When asked whether the India-China border standoff issue came up for discussion during the Quad Foreign ministers’ meeting here on Friday, Jaishankar replied, “Yes”.
“Yes, we (Quad) had a discussion on India-China relations because it was part of how we briefed each other about what was happening in our neighbourhood. And it’s an issue in which a lot of countries legitimately take interest, particularly if they are from the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.
The situation at the LAC has arisen due to the disregard by China in 2020 of written agreements with India not to mass forces at the border, he said.
“So, when a large country disregards written commitments, I think it’s an issue of legitimate concern for the entire international community,” he added.
